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Gen Singh ‘non-committal’, says no issue with Ministry
Army chief General VK Singh on Tuesday remained non-committal on whether or not he will move the court against the Defence Ministry’s decision some days back rejecting his statutory complaint regarding his date of birth. Claiming he had no differences with the Defence Ministry, Singh tried to play down the controversy terming it as a “personal issue” and having “nothing to do with the institution of the Army”.
“I think I have said this time and again, this is a purely personal issue and I desist from making any comments on this,” Singh said, reacting publicly for the first time after the controversy hit the headlines, Singh told reporters here on the sidelines of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) function.
Asked if his differences with the Ministry were over, Singh said, “When there were no differences at any point of time (on the age issue), how can they be now? Moreover, this issue has nothing to do with the organisation (Army).”
When asked if the ‘chapter’ over his age issue was over, the Army chief commented, “I don’t know whether the chapter was open or has been closed. This is a personal issue and I will not comment on it.”
Singh made these remarks when asked if he had kept the option open on approaching court to settle the dispute over his year of birth. The question was asked in the context of the Defence Ministry rejecting his statutory complaint for not treating May 10, 1951 as his year of birth as against May 10,1950.
When pointed out that he had given interviews recently on his age issue, the Army Chief said, “That was part of Army Day (January 15) fixtures. If somebody has breached the trust, you are there to ask... Please ask your colleagues why it has appeared and what has appeared, I have got nothing to do with it.” The Army chief had given interviews to some media organizations before leaving for an official five-day visit to Myanmar on Thursday last.
Replying to another query about reports suggesting Eastern Army Commander Lt General Bikram Singh’s alleged involvement in a fake encounter case in 2001 in Jammu and Kashmir and whether this would affect his chances of becoming the next Army chief, Singh said “I have no clue about it.”
The Army chief said, “This report is with you (media). When it comes to us, after that only we can tell you what can be done with that.” Bikram Singh is likely to succeed V K Singh as the next Army Chief.
Army chief General VK Singh on Tuesday remained non-committal on whether or not he will move the court against the Defence Ministry’s decision some days back rejecting his statutory complaint regarding his date of birth. Claiming he had no differences with the Defence Ministry, Singh tried to play down the controversy terming it as a “personal issue” and having “nothing to do with the institution of the Army”.
“I think I have said this time and again, this is a purely personal issue and I desist from making any comments on this,” Singh said, reacting publicly for the first time after the controversy hit the headlines, Singh told reporters here on the sidelines of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) function.
Asked if his differences with the Ministry were over, Singh said, “When there were no differences at any point of time (on the age issue), how can they be now? Moreover, this issue has nothing to do with the organisation (Army).”
When asked if the ‘chapter’ over his age issue was over, the Army chief commented, “I don’t know whether the chapter was open or has been closed. This is a personal issue and I will not comment on it.”
Singh made these remarks when asked if he had kept the option open on approaching court to settle the dispute over his year of birth. The question was asked in the context of the Defence Ministry rejecting his statutory complaint for not treating May 10, 1951 as his year of birth as against May 10,1950.
When pointed out that he had given interviews recently on his age issue, the Army Chief said, “That was part of Army Day (January 15) fixtures. If somebody has breached the trust, you are there to ask... Please ask your colleagues why it has appeared and what has appeared, I have got nothing to do with it.” The Army chief had given interviews to some media organizations before leaving for an official five-day visit to Myanmar on Thursday last.
Replying to another query about reports suggesting Eastern Army Commander Lt General Bikram Singh’s alleged involvement in a fake encounter case in 2001 in Jammu and Kashmir and whether this would affect his chances of becoming the next Army chief, Singh said “I have no clue about it.”
The Army chief said, “This report is with you (media). When it comes to us, after that only we can tell you what can be done with that.” Bikram Singh is likely to succeed V K Singh as the next Army Chief.
